"Give it your best shot, Westfall," Chronis said, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face. "I've got all the time in the world."Adrian’s face contorted, his silver hair catching the morning light as he stepped into a combat stance. "You’ve got a big mouth for a scholarship rat, Chronis. Do you even know how much this gauntlet costs? More than your family’s entire estate.""Probably," Chronis replied, shifting his weight. "But does it come with a manual on how to actually land a hit? Because you’re looking a little stiff.""Stiff?" Adrian let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "I’ll show you stiff when I’ve broken every bone in your legs.""Wait, wait!" Lucan’s voice rang out as he came skidding around the corner, still clutching his half-empty bucket. "Chronis! What are you doing? That’s Adrian Westfall! You know, the guy who owns the training grounds? And most of the professors?""I know who he is, Lucan," Chronis said without breaking eye contact. "He’s the guy who thinks flowers

Chronis reached up and gingerly plucked the pink paper heart from the bridge of his nose. He stared at it for a second, the tiny scrap of parchment fluttering in the breeze, before letting it drift back down into the sea of neon-pink soot and shimmering glitter that now coated the Academy’s main courtyard."So," Chronis said, clearing his throat. His voice sounded like he’d swallowed a handful of dry flour. "On a scale of one to 'I’m calling the High Inquisitor,' how much do you hate me right now?"Mirelle didn't answer immediately. She was busy shaking her head, sending a literal cloud of strawberry-scented dust into the air. "I can’t breathe, Chronis. I’m actually inhaling pink. My lungs are aesthetic now.""Look, the blue was the plan. Cobalt salts, mana-infusion, very classy. Rowan apparently doesn't know his left from his right," Chronis explained, stepping closer and trying to brush a stray smudge of glitter from her shoulder.Mirelle stepped back, her eyes narrowing. "Don’t. Yo

Chronis groaned, closing his eyes as the smell of elderberry potion filled his nostrils. "Not again," he whispered. "Please, not again.""Is the floor to your liking, Mr. Chronis? Or should we perhaps bring out a pillow for your next arrival?"The voice was dry, ancient, and belonged to the Head Inquisitor. Chronis looked up to see a pair of narrowed eyes peering down through gold-rimmed spectacles."Just testing the structural integrity of the marble, sir," Chronis said, pushing himself up. "It’s... very sturdy. Top notch work."A roar of laughter erupted from the side of the hall. Adrian Westfall stood there, flanked by his cronies, clutching a glass of sparkling cider. "Look at that! The scholarship rat is trying to swim! Hey, Chronis, did you forget how legs work, or did Vivienne just dress up a mannequin and hope nobody noticed?""Give him a break, Adrian," another student chimed in. "He probably thought the 'Grand Entrance' meant he had to cover the most distance."Chronis ignor

The world didn't just end; it folded. The white-hot glare of the collapsing reality felt like a physical weight pressing against Chronis’s chest, until suddenly, the pressure vanished, replaced by a damp, heavy silence.Chronis hit a stone floor hard, the breath leaving his lungs in a wheezing puff. He rolled onto his side, coughing up the metallic taste of ozone and sand."Mirelle?" he gasped, his voice echoing in the dark. "Mirelle, you there?""She’s fine. She’s just... elsewhere for the moment," a voice replied.Chronis looked up. Nolan was standing a few feet away, his slate-gray coat untouched by the chaos. He was holding a flickering mana-lantern, the blue light carving deep shadows into his face. They weren't in the study anymore. They were in a cavernous vault deep beneath the library, where the air felt like it hadn't moved in centuries."What do you mean 'elsewhere'?" Chronis demanded, scrambling to his feet. "We were holding hands! Where is she?""She’s in the recovery war

"Let it wait a little longer," Mirelle whispered, her voice a fragile thread in the looming roar of the midnight bell. "I’ve missed you for a very long time."Chronis stared at her, his heart performing a frantic rhythm that had nothing to do with the collapsing architecture of the room. "You... you really remember? The crickets? The garden? That wasn’t just the loop messing with my head?""I remembered the moment you caught me in the air," she said, a shaky laugh escaping her. "It was like a dam breaking. All those little pieces of you that I couldn't quite place... they just snapped together. But we can't stay here, Nis. Look at the ceiling."Chronis glanced up. The cracks weren't just in the stone anymore; they were in the air itself. Thin, jagged lines of violet-black void were spiderwebbing across the rafters. "Nolan said Wednesday was hungry. I think it’s actually starving. Come on, the balcony. We need air that isn't full of dust and dead centuries."He grabbed her hand, ignori